Bringing Order to Anarchy - Your Arrows
How important is a golf club? After all, you’re the one who is swinging it, right?
Still think that it’s all about the Indian and not the arrow? You’d better get some straight
arrows because clubfitting has finally come of age, and if you really want to win that next
Nassau bet on the golf course you need to get clubs that fit!
There are at least 8 things about a golf club you can change to make it better for you. So,
which comes first, the golf swing or a fitted golf club? The answer is simple: if a beginner
can’t reasonably hit the first club you give them then what good is it to try to improve their
golf swing?
You won’t hear much of this elsewhere, but a good clubfitting can make the difference
between playing very well and quitting altogether. If you’re going to swing a golf club, then
anything you do to that club will affect the ball. Because of your desire to hit it straight the
resulting ball flight will affect your next swing.
A perfect example is buying a set of clubs for a beginner that aren’t fitted and telling them
that they can have a good set once they get better. That’s like giving a beginning race
driver a Volkswagen Beetle and telling him as soon as he gets better on the track he can
drive a NASCAR. Good intentions don’t go very far in this scenario, since the beginner
can’t improve because the clubs won’t let him!
It’s often said that the driver is the hardest club in the bag to hit. If that’s the case, then you’
ve got the wrong driver! Not necessarily the wrong brand, but at least the wrong
specifications. After all, the ball is up on a tee. In fact, often starting a beginner with a
driver - one they can hit! - is the best way to get them to progress because the ball is on a
high tee. That may mean starting with a large-headed driver with a loft as high as 19
degrees (they’re available...!). Of course, starting a beginner with a 10-degree driver
would normally be the kiss of death. In other words, LOFT is the #1 factor in a player’s
performance.
Next most important is the LENGTH of the club. If it’s too short, the player is going to top
the ball, thus altering the next swing - and the next, and the next. If the player makes a
good attempt at a swing he should at least be able to reach the ball.
You might think FLEX is next, but it’s not. Actually, the WEIGHT of the shaft is more
important than the flex. What’s the difference between a graphite shaft and a steel shaft?
Most people think it is flex, with graphite being softer, but the difference is actually
weight! You can make either graphite or steel in any flex you desire. SHAFT WEIGHT
will definitely affect your performance. The heavier the shaft is, the lower and straighter
your shots will be, and the lighter the shaft is the higher and more variable your shots will
be. Many players try to make their clubs heavier by adding lead tape to the head, but that
changes the over-all weight, the swing weight, and the shaft flex. Sometimes it works, but
changing to the right shaft weight is more advantageous. Unless you hit several different
shaft weights to compare, it’s difficult to tell what you really need.
Yes, FLEX is next. As you make the flex softer the ball will go higher and farther left, and
stiffer will go higher and farther right. There is a popular misconception that softer shafts
don’t catch up and leave the ball to the right. Actually, when you make a good swing the
shaft will spring forward through impact, and the softer it is the more forward it will spring,
thus closing the face. If the shaft is too stiff it will not kick forward, leaving the face open,
which often causes a slice. One manufacturer even offers up to 7 flexes for you to test!
The LIE ANGLE of the club is very important. The lie angle is tested at impact, with the
sole of the club properly parallel with the ground. If the club is heel-down it will cause the
ball to go to the left, and toe-down will cause it to go the right.
Next, OFFSET VS. NON-OFFSET CLUBHEADS have a large influence on performance.
Most manufacturers will claim that a larger clubhead with offset (sometimes called a
‘goose-neck’) will be more forgiving, but quite simply if you hit it worse than a no-offset
clubhead then it isn’t more forgiving. The best way to test this is to use a completely
interchangeable clubfitting system with a pro in which you can change to any shaft
specification and test it. Once you have a reliable loft, length, weight, flex, and lie angle,
you can change the head designs to see and feel the effects.
Other important specifications: Shaft kick-point helps the ball go higher or lower. Grip
size helps with impact consistency. Grip material is mainly a comfort issue, but though
some new grips may feel good in your hands they often are lighter than regular rubber
grips. Lighter or heavier weighted grips can significantly change the balance of the club.
Swing weight is important, but much less so than most players have been led to believe.
The bottom line is to get properly fitted for your clubs - after all, you don’t see any movies
of cowboys with crooked arrows...